viets were itching for the fight. Right up till Kennedy’s address, the Soviets were unaware that the Americans had idea that the United States knew of the ballistic missiles in Cuba. However there were signs. Thus when the announcement of the naval blockade was made, the Soviets were not take completely off guard.(Fursenko & Naftali p.253)During this first part of the Cuban missile crisis, prior to the Soviet knowledge of American awareness, Robert Kennedy played a crucial role in developing his brother’s position on how to handle the situation. Early on into the conflict, Kennedy was a clear and vocal hawk. His suggestion of sabotage and false pretexts in an attempt to trigger a legitimate invasion seem over the top. Yet as he cooled down, and sobered up to the realization that this conflict could very well lead to the advent of thermonuclear war, Kennedy began to realize the illogical reasoning behind triggering a war with such lethal consequences. His position gradually developed from that of an invasion to that of a surprise air attack to that of a warned air attack and finally to that of a blockade of Cuba without a single shot being fired. Kennedy was very instrumental in quieting the hawks calling for an air strike and eventually championing the concept of a naval blockade. While not entirely accepting the effectiveness of the blockade, he did learn to appreciate the consequences of the other possible alternatives. As his position on the crisis evolved to that of a more rational one, so did that of the Ex Comm committee. This demonstrated a great character and leadership in the young attorney general. In the end everybody though not necessarily agreeing with it was willing to accept the idea of a naval blockade at least as a first step towards resolving the conflict. While his brother the president disagreed with him on certain points, such as that of conducting the blockade under a moral pretext, at leas...
